A Chance At Love
by EleanorWeasley
Summary: When Hermiones life is changed by a single bite, will she ever be able to find love in this time? Or will she just have to dig deeper into the past to find her soulmate? Sorry - I suck at summarys! TIME TRAVEL FIC! REMUS/HERMIONE AND JAMES/LILY
1. Chapter 1

**A/N; READ FIRST PLEASE! I've edited this chapter, so it's a little different; I didn't like it the last time I wrote it. I'm aiming to post a chapter a week, but I might not be able to because of school, and I am writing another novel just now. Please, no haters! I'm trying my best! EleanorWeasley x**

Chapter 1

'NOO, PLEASE, IT'S A FAKE! IT'S A FAKE!'

Screams echoed through the dimly lit dining hall of Malfoy Manor, were around 20 figures in black cloaks were surrounded a short, bushy haired witch.

'I don't believe you.'

The drawling voice of Bellatrix Lestrange could hardly be heard over the girl's screams, as a knife was plunged into the younger witches arm.

'THAT SWORD WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN MY VAULT IN GRINGOTTS, HOW DID YOU GET IT? HMM? _CRUCIO!'_

Hermione Granger lay twitching uncontrollably on the ground, blood pouring from her arm and face. Her clothes were soaked with the red liquid, whilst her throat was hoarse from screaming.

'Please, we didn't steal anything. We found it! We foun- AAAAAHHH'

Her screams started again as the knife was once again wedged into her arm, leaving a cold hearted word were her skin was supposed to be.

Hermione's breath came out in ragged intervals as the knife was withdrawn from her arm, and a single tear trickled down her face as she lay on the floor, motionless.

'PETTIGREW!' Bellatrix cried, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction and fear, 'Get the goblin. He shall determine the true status of the sword. But for now, Greyback? Am I right in thinking that you wanted to play with the girl?"

Hermione's blood ran cold and all the colour that was left in her face quickly drained as the werewolf grinned maniacally at her, and dragged her off into a secluded area and started ripping at her clothes. As her shirt was thrown off, a cold metal hit against her warm stomach. Her time turner was still intact, but as she reached up to hide it, her shoulder shot with pain. Her vision was clouded with black spots as the pain burned through her shoulder and travelled down to her lungs. Her lungs felt as though they were on fire, and gasped in as much air as she could. As the werewolf drew back, Hermione could see the fresh wound of a bite mark etched into her shoulder.

That wasn't the worst of it. Amidst the fact that she was aware that she had just been bitten by a werewolf, she didn't want to know what would happen next. Greyback scraped his long fingernails dug into her stomach, leaving large, deep wounds behind. Hermione almost wished she was still being tortured by Bellatrix, and didn't have to endure this pain and knowing what was going to happen to her.

'Stop!' a woman shrieked from the back of the room, 'I will not have this filth being practiced in my house!'

'Cissy, quiet!' Bellatrix hissed, 'The mudblood deserves it. Doesn't she Draco?'

Hermione turned her head slightly in the direction of the youngest Malfoy, and his silver eyes met her chocolate ones. His eyes were filled with unshed tears, and he looked like he wanted to do nothing more than get out of the drawing room. While his crazed aunt had her attention on the goblin, he mouthed to her two words.

_I'm Sorry._

Hermione nodded her head ever so slightly, to show that she understood that her pain was not his fault. She noticed his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, looking at her sister with a mixture of disgust and fear, and she placed a hand on Draco's shoulder in a comforting gesture. Her piercing blue eyes stared into Hermione's, and in them she could see the fear and adrenaline. She nodded towards Hermione, and then sutly jerked her head towards the centre of the room, where Hermione could see a couple of feet from underneath an invisibility cloak.

Her relief was cut short; however, as she was brought back to reality with a low growl from her attacker, who she had momentarily forgotten was there. He grinned maliciously at her, and lowered his face onto hers.

The werewolf was suddenly thrown into her, as an explosion sounded behind them. Bellatrix was still torturing the goblin, but Hermione's vision started going blurry as she saw a chandelier fall from high above onto the ground. She screamed out in agony as metal and glass was pierced into her skin, blood trailing all down her stomach. She could faintly see 2 figures running towards her as Greyback was blasted to the side as large black spots threatened to cloud her vision. She could hardly hear the continuous shouts of her name, and then the crack of apparition as her world went black.

ooOOoo

Hermione landed with a thud on some soft, green grass as she clutched her arm in pain. The middle of her chest was sprouting a huge, red gash as she tried to sit up. Head still wringing, she tried to remember were she was before she apparently went unconscious. All her memories came flooding back as she saw the foul word etched into her forearm. Blood was smeared over the lettering, but the outlines of the letters could still be made out, and she realised what it said. Mudblood.

Taking in a sharp breath, Hermione stood up, leaning on a tree for support, and opened her eyes fully to take in her surroundings, only to be blinded by the sun. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as the pain rushed back through her body, and she turned her head round in an attempt to spot her two best friends.

She jerked her head to the right and there, standing tall in the distance, were the magnificent towers of Hogwarts. How was his possible? Her former school stood tall in the distance, and a rush of hope filled her body at the thought of seeing the familiar faces that would surely help her. The excitement quickly drained from her as she realised that her beloved headmaster was no longer here, but in a marble white tomb on an island in the middle of a lake. Wait, where were Ron and Harry? She frantically looked around, hoping to see them, only to be met by the empty fields of Hogwarts. How could this be happening? Why was she alone? She tried to walk, only to find a searing pain erupting in her left leg. She decided that she would have to endure this pain just a little while longer in order to reach the castle, were Ron and Harry may be looking for her. Clutching her leg in an attempt to numb it, she slowly made her way up to the castle.

After around an hour, she was standing in front of the large doors of the entrance hall. Soon, the pain in her leg became overwhelming, and as she attempted to climb the stone steps, her vision started to go black again and all she could do was lie down.

'Help,' she whimpered, let her head bang against the steps, and once again, she could see no more.

_**A/N: Okay, so I'm back! I'm not dead! If you think you've recognised this before then your right. I'm redoing my story; I didn't like it last time. I know it's a really short chapter; it was sort of a prologue. If you've not read the rest of the story, then all will be revealed soon! Any questions/comments are much appreciated!**_

**EleanorWeasley**

**Word Count; 1,262 **


	2. Chapter 2

_**A:N/ **_**EDITED CHAPTER! REREAD PLEASE **

_Chapter 2_

'Sir, I feel responsible! If you'd just let me see her then I'll leave in a minute!'

'Yeah professor, please let us in!'

'Please professor!'

Voices filled the Hospital Wing as the sun rose high in the sky. It was midday, and Hogwarts was silent, except for 3 people, shouting at someone. Hermione's eyes fluttered open, and she took in a breath of fresh cold air.

'Sir! Sir! She's waking! Please let us see her!'

The curtains surrounding Hermione's bed were drawn back and 4 teenage boys were looming over her, a familiar face standing out from the crowd.

'Harry!' Hermione cried, 'Oh God, harry I can't believe your okay! I was so worried, where's Ro-' Hermione stopped talking abruptly as she looked one of the tall figures in the eye. She was talking to an exact replica of Harry, although he looked to be at least 2 years older, as he had a small beard forming on his chin. 'Your not harry' she said, bluntly.

'No, I'm James, James Potter. Pleased to meet you'

Hermione laughed cold heartedly. 'James Potter? Yeah, okay Harry.' The boys looked at her in bewilderment while James seemed confused, 'If this is some kind of sick joke Harry, then you can bloody count me out. The first thing I'd expect you to say would be 'Hermione! How are you? We know you've just been tortured by Bellatrix bloody Lestrange, and we want to know how you are' not some SICK joke.' By the end of Hermione's rant, her voiced had reached to the point were she was almost screaming, and the boys were cowering away from her in fear.

A boy from the other side of her bed with long black shaggy hair stepped forward, visibly shaking, 'B-b-Bellatrix L-Lestrange?' he said, his eyes wide, 'You don't mean my cousin, do you?'

Hermione's eyebrows burrowed in confusion, before she rounded on him. 'And who are you?' she spat, coldly.

'S-'he cleared his throat, 'S-Sirius Black.'

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat. What the _hell?_ She looked round at the other inhabitants in the room, and noted a small, pudgy faced boy with chubby cheeks and watery blue eyes. He seemed familiar but- no, he couldn't be.

She turned to the last boy at the foot of her bed and took in his appearance. He was a tall, lanky boy with broad shoulders, and shoulder length sandy blonde hair. His face held many scars, while his eyes were red and bloodshot as if he hadn't slept in weeks.

_Am I dead?_

Her fears were evidently close to reality, as she was overcome by shock as a tall man with a pearly white beard stepped forward.

'Hello my dear, my name is Albus Dumbledore,' said the man, no twinkly evident in his eye. He had obviously just witnessed her outburst and honesty. As soon as he said this, Hermione's eyes flooded with tears. 'May I ask your name?'

'He-he-Hermione sir'

'And, if I may be so bold, why were you on Hogwarts Grounds yesterday morning?'

The girl in question looked anxiously around at the 4 teenagers surrounding her bed then back at Dumbledore. The old man didn't miss this, and, after many protests, the boys were dismissed from the room.

'So, why were you here yesterday?'

'Sir – sir – I don't know what's happened,' Hermione answered, as she struggled to contain her tears.

Hermione's hand instantly flew up to her neck were she felt a lump which was a fresh scar. She fumbled around for a minute underneath her hospital gown and took in a sharp breath. Her time turner was gone. Dumbledore obviously sensed her fear as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

'It's gone!' she cried, 'My Necklace! It's gone!'

She looked around her frantically, and saw a heap of things on the bedside table. In the pile was her wand which had snapped in two upon her exit of Malfoy Manor, her beaded back and a mangled necklace.

The time turner was hardly recognisable, as all the grains of sand had vanished through the huge crack in the hourglass.

The light blue eyes of her former professor were suddenly changed with a deep dark blue colour, and he extended his hand in order to inspect the broken piece of jewellery.

'Oh dear... oh dear oh dear...'

'Sir, will you be able to fix it?' Hermione asked, anxiously.

'I'm afraid that I myself do not know how to fix it. However, I do have some contacts that specialize in th-'

'What do you mean you can't fix it?' Hermione cried, 'You're the greatest wizard of all time!'

'While I admire your obvious trust in me, I am afraid that the task is nearly impossible. I realise that whatever time you came from, you have came from a time of great peril, and do not wish to go back immediately, but-'

'Of course I want to go back immediately!' she cried, interrupting Dumbledore's calm voice, 'Harry and Ron need me! The world needs us together! I need to go back RIGHT NOW!'

As Hermione fought to regain her breath, Dumbledore stroked his beard, deep in thought.

'Miss Granger,' Dumbledore said in a calm voice, so calm that it was getting on Hermione's nerves, 'What time have you came from?'

'1998, sir'

'And I assume that the threat that you and your friends have just been through was through the acts of Voldemort?'

Hermione nodded her head, her head bending down in sadness.

'I see,' Dumbledore nodded, sighing, 'I had hoped that 21 years into the future that Voldemort would no longer be a threat.'

At this Hermione perked up.

'21 _years?_' she said, incredulously, 'You mean to tell me that I am 21 years in the past?'

'Yes my dear,' Dumbledore said, gravely, 'The year is 1977,'

'Then that means that they- that he- he really was...' she trailed off, 'Those were the marauders?'

'I believe the correct term is _are _Miss Granger,' Dumbledore said, 'The marauders are currently in their 6th year at this school; why, they shouldn't even be here just now!'

Hermione let a couple of tears spill over her eyelids. If she was indeed in the past, that meant that Harry wasn't born yet, and neither was Ron.

'Sir,' she asked, pondering how to phrase her next question, 'Have you formed the Order of the Phoenix yet?'

Dumbledore blinked in surprise, 'How do you know of this?' he asked, 'I have fought to keep this society a secret. Are you telling me that everyone knows of this organization in the future?'

'Oh! No no sir, far from it in fact,' Hermione quickly corrected him, 'In my time, my friends and I play a large part in the order; even if we have not been accepted in. For a large part of our lives, we lived in the headquarters. '

'You speak of your friends a lot,' Dumbledore mused, 'Were they present at the time of your... encounter with Miss Lestrange?'

Hermione's face paled, 'Actually, I was accompanying my best friend, Harry. My other best friend Ron was there as well, but when we were on the run, we were caught by snatchers. Sir, if I may, can I please tell you about my friend Harry?'

'I believe that would be best,' Dumbledore said, 'Am I right in assuming that he plays an important part in the war?'

'Yes, he is probably the most important person in the war. You see, he is the Boy Who Lived.'

Throughout the next half hour, Dumbledore's expressions ranged from shocked, to scared and eventually to disgust as Hermione relayed the events of Harry's life, putting in all the essentials of hers as well.

'...and then Dobby, the same house elf that tried to stop Harry from going to Hogwarts, was unscrewing the chandelier, and the next thing I knew I woke up in Hogwarts.'

Dumbledore stared at her, mouth open and eyes wide as he processed the information that Hermione had just told him. Hermione found this expression unusually weird, as Dumbledore was usually the master of concealing his expressions, and this was the only time that he had let his normally blank facade drop.

'So this young boy, Harry, he is destined to rid the world of Voldemort?'

'Yes.'

'And Voldemort has split his soul into seven pieces?'

'Yes.'

'My dear,' Dumbledore said, his voice tender and full of concern, 'You have been through too much at such a young age. I assure you, we shall do everything in our power to make sure that Harry grows up with both his parents, and that your friends and family do not have to suffer. If you so wish, I would like to offer you a place in the Order of the Phoenix.'

Hermione looked up, her eyes wide with realization. _I could stop Voldemort before Harry is even born! _'I accept!'

Dumbledore beamed. 'Now, it is only a matter of finding a suitable place for you to live. Of course, you will be continuing your schooling here, wont you?'

Hermione's eyes lit up in excitement. Having missed out on her seventh year education due to living in a tent, she had never contemplated coming back to school, but now that she was being given the chance, she readily accepted.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at the sight of the young women's enthusiasm. Behind the cheerful facade that the girl portrayed for the world around her, Dumbledore could see in the depths of her eyes that there was nothing but sadness and loss.

'As it is the middle of March, school is already in session, and so I see no excuse in putting your order work into action right away. You shall be able to start school in the next term and join the seventh years then. In the meantime, we will be unable to house you here as there is no room. Is there anyone that you know in your time that would be suitable for accommodating you?'

'Molly Weasley,' Hermione said, not even taking a moment to reconsider it. She knew that Molly would be more than happy to have her stay; and she could even help take care of the Weasley's, who would be very young now.

'Ah, I believe that this 'Ron' that you speak of is Molly's future son?'

'Yes!' Hermione said, 'Is he born yet?'

'No, not yet,' Dumbledore chuckled, 'I believe she has another son. Yes, I believe his name is Percival. I greatly approve of that name of course, seeing as I am entitled to that name too. He is an exceptionally bright wizard according to Molly. I simply cannot wait to have them here at Hogwarts.'

Hermione's smile slipped from her face at the mention of Percy. He still hadn't apologised to his family for deserting them in their time of need. , 'Be careful what you hope for, sir,' she said darkly, 'people aren't always as smart as they seem.'

Dumbledore nodded solemnly, and Hermione lay back down in her bed.

'I believe that is enough excitement today, Miss Granger,' Dumbledore said, trying to edge away from the tense silence that had settled upon the two, 'I shall contact Molly to see if she shall be able to house you. In the meantime, we must make a cover story for you; I think that we should keep your true identity a secret and only tell Molly and Arthur.'

Hermione nodded and thought for a second.

'Can I keep my first name?' Hermione asked, 'my last name could be my mothers maiden name; Jackson. If it helps, I am muggleborn.'

'Ah, yes Miss Gran- Jackson, I assumed that. I asked Poppy to give me a brief description of your wounds, and she told me of a rather... horrific one on your arm. I think it would be best to keep that covered for the moment.'

Hermione's smile turned to a frown as she looked at her arm again. As she made to move it, she gave a gasp of pain, and suddenly remembered one of her other wounds.

'Professor, I forgot to mention. Before I came here, I had a rather _nasty_ encounter with a werewolf and it – it – it bit me. What does this mean?'

'May I see the bite mark?'

Hermione lowered her sleeve to reveal a deep red gash, surrounded by purple and black

'It seems it has been infected Miss Jackson. I assure you, our matron; Poppy shall attend to it momentarily. It does mean however, that you may transform into a werewolf every full moon. Not to worry though, we actually have another werewolf here in the school, and he is extremely friendly. The 4 boys that found you are, as you probably saw, very anxious to see you, so if it is okay with you I shall let them in.'

'Thank you professor,' Hermione called, as he exited the room.

No more that 5 seconds later, four boys shuffled into the room, not making eye contact with Hermione. When they reached her bed, the tall boy with shiny black hair came forward.

'He-hello,' he stuttered, and for a man who looked around 17, he looked quite scared.

Hermione immediately felt guilty for the way she had treated them, and smiled at them apologetically.

'I'm really sorry for the way I spoke to you all earlier,' she said earnestly, 'I was confused; and you all look so much like my best friends.'

'Hrmph,' he huffed, but the sandy haired boy next to him elbowed him in the ribs.

'Hello, I'm Remus Lupin,' the boy smiled warmly, 'these are my friends; Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and James Potter. May we ask your name?'

'Hermione,' Hermione said, 'Hermione Jackson.'

'Pleased to meet you,' Remus said.

'Are you going to be going to school here?' James asked, 'Only, you look about school age – no offence.'

Hermione chuckled good-naturedly. The similarities between James and Harry were uncanny; they both looked almost identical, and they even sat the same way. _Harry. _The name alone brought unshed tears to Hermione's eyes. How she wished he was here; he was always the best at dealing with unusual events. How would he feel when she got back? Happy that she got to see his parents? Sad because he knew he could never see him? Or jealous, because she got to see them instead of him?

'Yes,' she replied, realising that she had been silent for the time that she was thinking, 'I'm going to be starting my seventh year after the summer.'

'Great!' Sirius said, his eyes sparkling with mischief, 'Why aren't you starting now?'

Hermione froze, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Remus. She quickly thought up a lie, 'There's no point in me starting my schooling halfway through the year now is there?'

The four boys nodded in agreement, although Remus was still sceptical about the girl in front of him.

'What are you going to be doing between now and after the summer?' Remus wondered, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

'I'm actually going to be staying at the Weasley's,' she replied, 'I've got to do some work for the Or-'Hermione stopped speaking abruptly as her shoulder burned. She glanced to her shoulder and noticed that her tattoo of the Phoenix in flames was the cause of her pain. It was charmed so that whenever she was about to talk about the order, it burned so that she could control what she was going to say about it. 'I've got to do some work for the OWLS,' she answered lamely.

'Haven't you already taken them?' Remus asked, but proceeded to blush a brilliant red as he thought the question may have seemed rude, 'I-I mean... err-'

Again, Hermione froze. _Stupid, Stupid Stupid!_ How could she have said that? 'Err, yeah I have,' she answered feebly, 'but... err Professor Dumbledore wants me to sit them again just so that I can... um... get my test scores back.'

The boys looked at her in suspicion at her lame excuse, but quickly shrugged it off and continued staring at the girl.

'So, what school did you come to before this one?' Peter asked quietly, as if he was scared that she would hex him on the spot. Actually, that's all Hermione wanted to do right now.

'Beuxbatons,' she said quickly. She didn't like talking to Peter; yes, yes. She knew he was still a teenager that hadn't done anything, but it was taking ever bit of her self control not just to Avada him right there, 'I had to come sooner than I expected though... there was... a-a problem.'

'Is that were you got all your injuries?' Peter asked, and stumbled when both Remus and Sirius elbowed him in the ribs.

'I thought we said we weren't going to ask her about them,' Remus whispered to him furiously.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her bed, and she felt a hand on her knee. She looked up to see a concerned expression etched across Sirius' face. Suddenly, he looked more like the Sirius that she knew from her time. Gone was the mischievous twinkle in his eye and in its place was an even deeper emotion. Understanding. Hermione wondered how many people Sirius lost, how many people he saw suffer, and most of all; how much he suffered.

People from her time often forgot the harsh background that Sirius came from; with his carefree aura it was hard to even acknowledge that he had ever felt such pain. But, over the many summers spent at Grimmuland Place, Hermione and Sirius had developed a trust relationship, and would often indulge in conversations about their past lives. It was in one of these talks that Hermione learnt of Sirius' brother Regulus, and she saw just how protective Sirius was over people he considered family.

'You don't have to tell us,' he said, not breaking eye contact with her and speaking in a soft voice that she didn't know could come from a 17 year old, 'But if you ever need people to talk to, we'll be here. I know we don't know you too well, but we will listen.'

Hermione's eyes glistened with tears as she recognised his tone of voice was the same voice that the older Sirius used when talking to Harry, albeit a little younger. She gave a watery smile as she sniffled, and wiped the few tears that had managed to escape her eyes with her sleeve, wincing as the pain shot through her arm. She ignored it however, as her eyes where still staring intently into the murky depths of Sirius' grey orbs.

Their silent spell was interrupted by a loud noise that greatly resembled a dying whale. Everyone's head whipped around to the smallest marauder, who was looking at his feet, his face beetroot red and mortified. He looked up to see everyone staring at him, and gave a shrug, 'What?'

The marauders all laughed and even Hermione couldn't help but smile. The marauders were so care free and innocent in their youth; a description that they would not be able to uphold in the upcoming years.

James reached into his bag down at the bottom of the bed and pulled out several packets of chocolate frogs and every flavour beans. He then proceeded to pull out a deck of Exploding Snap, and eyed Sirius from across the bed, identical smirks lighting up their faces.

'Anyone up for a game?' James said, smiling brightly.

After every nodded their consent, the next half an hour was spent laughing, playing Exploding Snap and eating sweets, exchanging stories over their past lives as well. At some point during the game, Hermione found herself leaning against Remus' chest, and the only marauder that noticed was Sirius. Even Remus didn't realise that he was unconsciously holding her hand with using the other to play the game.

Hermione yawned, and everyone looked up at her.

'It's getting late,' she said, 'I-I better be getting to sleep,' she said through another yawn.

'So,' Sirius said, 'where are you going to stay? I assume you'll be staying at the Weasley's, but you still have about a week till your let out of here and you're always welcome at my dormitory,' he finished, and couldn't resist waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Hermione rolled her eyes. His antics reminded her so much of Fred and George from her time. Oh how she missed them. Nobody apart from Ginny knew that she had harboured a bit of a crush on Fred since her 5th year, and that crush had continued up until now. Now she knew that she could never express her feelings, as it would look weird if she proclaimed her undying love for an unborn child.

'I'm actually going to be staying here and then going straight the Weasley's,' she said, smiling at the thought of the Burrow.

A companionable silence fell upon the group, and Hermione let out a large yawn.

'S-sorry g-g-guys...' Hermione yawned, 'I've been up for a while; it's been a crazy day...'

Remus immediately looked apologetic and smiled down at her.

'Get to sleep then, we'll come and visit in the morning, yeah?' he said.

'Mmhmm...' she trailed off.

'We will?' Sirius said incredulously.

'Of course you will, Sirius,' Hermione murmured sleepily, 'Remember; I know where you live.'

The three other marauders laughed, but they were confused at what she had said. There expressions matched Sirius' confounded expression, and they soon lapsed back into silence, which was only broken by the soft, steady breaths of Hermione.

'Aww look,' Sirius cooed, 'Moony's got himself a gal!'

'Shhh!' Remus abolished, 'How do I get her off me without waking her up?'

'Tut tut tut Moony!' James scolded, 'you're supposed to be the smart one; I think we'll leave this one to you, what do you think guys?'

The other two laughed, and the three marauders stood simultaneously, ignoring the furious pleads from Remus.

'Guys!' he whispered, 'Guys help me!'

His pleas were drowned out by the notorious laughter echoing through the empty corridors, and he sighed in defeat. Looking down at the witch in his arms, Remus couldn't help but marvel at just how pretty she actually was.

**A/N: Hey guys! **

**Thanks for reading! I have re-done this chapter and the last... I plan to update more regularly; at least once every two weeks :P I'm quite pleased with this chapter; I think its one of my better ones. I decided to add the part about the Weasley's in just to give the story a bit of a twist; I want to try and avoid as many time turner clichés as possible, so if you have any ideas for this story, please tell me!**

**EleanorWeasley x**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow – thanks so much for the response guys! I apologise that I haven't updated in a couple of months! I was going to post this last Wednesday but my internets been down for a whole week and its still going terribly slow, so I am having trouble updated. But it's okay! I promise I'll be writing a lot more chapters over the next couple of weeks because it's the SUMMER HOLIDAYS! Enjoy! R&R PLEASE**

Chapter 3

The next few days felt like years to Hermione, as she lay in her hospital bed, consumed with boredom. Apart from the occasional visits from Madame Pomfrey, she felt completely alone, and not even a book could cure her from how isolated she felt. Three days after appearing at Hogwarts, she was given the okay to leave by the matron, and so Hermione made her way up to Professor Dumbledore's office.

Amidst the excitement that Hermione felt at the thought of seeing her late headmaster again, she also felt a little scared. What would Dumbledore expect her to do? Harry wasn't here to help her or guide her, so how would she know what to say! As soon as she thought of Harry, her eyes filled with tears. She had just left Harry and Ron, unintentionally of course, but none the less, she still abandoned them. And James, James looked so much like Harry it was unreal. It just made her want to cry every time she saw him. But, being Hermione, she turned that grief into determination, and walked in a powerful stride all the way up to the stone gargoyle of Dumbledore's office. There she was faced with a problem. What is the password? In Dumbledore's letters to Harry, he had always left a note at the bottom stating a sweet that he enjoyed, and Harry always knew what he meant. Could his password revolve around sweets? With that thought, Hermione started firing every wizard sweet she knew at the gargoyle.

"Chocolate Frogs"

"Jelly Slugs"

"Cockroach Clusters"

"Canary Creams" Wow, were did that come from? They aren't even invented!

"Liquorice Wand"

"Bertie Botts"

Why weren't any of these working? Hermione's head was reeling. She couldn't think of any more wizard sweets! Unless...

"Crunchie!"

"Dairy Milk!"

"Curlywurly!"

"Fudgie Wudgie!"

"Murray Mints!"

"Lemon Drops!"

"Wispa!"

Just as she was about to open her mouth to shout out another muggle sweet, the stone gargoyle sprung to life and started rotating, revealing a spiral of stone steps. Bewildered as to why Dumbledore would choose a muggle sweet as his password, Hermione quickly jumped onto the moving stairs and was soon facing a rather old looking oak door. Taking a deep breath, she clenched her fist and knocked loudly on the door. The sound echoed through the room, and one could faintly hear the soft voice of Albus Dumbledore, calling for her to enter.

Hermione had only been in Dumbledore's office once before, and that was to receive her time turner from Professor McGonagall in her 3rd year. Not much had changed, apart from the silver instrument that sat in the corner of the room, which looked as though they had been recently cleaned. Behind a large wooden desk sat Dumbledore, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Ah, Miss Granger. Nice of you to join me so soon," he said with a smile.

Hermione nodded, and took the vacant chair that was in the middle of the room. Politely declining Dumbledore's offer for a Lemon Drop, she cleared her throat.

"Professor, I was wondering if you have a way to get me home yet," she said, surprised that her voice was so calm and composed.

"Ah... it appears that my friends at the ministry have hit a little snag with your time turner..." he sighed.

"A snag, sir?" Hermione repeated.

"Yes, it appears that there is a force that is preventing them from fixing this particular time turner. I must say, they seem completely clueless as to what it is, because time turners are rather new in this time..."

Hermione's head was spinning. Her time turner wasn't able to be fixed? Emotions filled her head. Confusion, shock, panic, and finally the strongest emotion of them all – anger.

"Sir, I need to go back NOW." Hermione cried.

Usually Dumbledore was good at hiding his emotions, but he could not hide is surprise at this sudden outburst from such a small girl.

"I'm sure you could stay here just for a little whi-"

"NO." Hermione screamed, "I'm sorry sir, but my friends are in _danger _just now. More danger than you could ever imagine. And I can't just stay here and not do _anything_ about it."

By the end of her outburst, Hermione was physically shaking with anger. The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes was gone and they grew hard, an emotion Hermione had never witnessed on her late headmasters face.

'Miss Jackson,' he said, his voice dangerously low, 'By trying to go back to the future you could not only put yourself in danger, but also everyone here. When you arrived in this time, I felt a strong magical pull that can only be associated with time travel. I am not the only powerful wizard in this time as you already very well know.' He peered at her over his half-moon spectacles and waited for realization to dawn on her face. Sure enough, not two seconds later, Hermione gasped.

'You-you mean _Voldemort _knows I'm here?' she said in disbelief, 'He knows I travelled back in time?'

At the mention of Voldemorts' name, Dumbledore felt a swell of pride rise within him at the young woman's courage.

'If he has managed to put two and two together, then yes, I believe he does know that someone travelled back in time. However, he does not know who. That is why you must keep your identity a secret from everyone. One slip up and we are all in danger. Now, think of the reasons you should stay in this time. If you go back to the time you game from. Then you'll have to endure all the hardships that you just escaped from. However, if you stay in this time, you have the chance to prevent any of this happening.'

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat. She knew staying in this time would be right, but she couldn't help but feel saddened at the fact that she would never see Harry or Ron again. Well, she probably would see them, but they wouldn't know her.

All of a sudden, Hermione felt an odd presence in her mind, and quickly identified it as Dumbledore using legimency on her, and she quickly put up the barriers that she had taught herself. Thanks to Harry's Occlumency lesson with Snape, Hermione was now a talented occlumens, and could withstand shields for about 10 minutes. To say Dumbledore was shocked by this girls abilities was an understatement, and he continued to study her closely.

"Sir, as much as I respect and support everything you do, I would appreciate it if you didn't try to penetrate my mind without my permission." Hermione said calmly.

"Of course. If you don't mind, I would very much like to see your memories to see what evil we are dealing with here.'

Nodding her head, Hermione let down her mind barriers and once again felt the presence in her mind, as Dumbledore searched through her memories.

Hermione watched as Dumbledore smiled when he saw the younger Hermione, and looked thoughtful when he saw Harry and Ron. Hermione could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she thought of her two best friends, but was brought out of her misery when Dumbledore gasp as he saw the troll. She chuckled. _If he's shocked by that, he won't be able to withstand my other memories_ Hermione thought. They were now at the end of her first year, were she was waiting in the potions room waiting for Harry to come back with the Philosophers stone. At this, Dumbledore adjusted himself in his chair and looked extremely interested. A couple of minutes later, the scene showed Hermione in the library with Penelope Clearwater, and then saw the yellow eyes of the basilisk in the handheld mirror she was holding, and everything went black as she was petrified. They were now in their third year, and Dumbledore took a sharp intake of breath as he witnessed the scene where Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had just been reunited in the Shrieking Shack, and then he continued to look dazed as he saw Hermione's former professor turn into a fully fledged werewolf. Tears rolled freely down Hermione's face as she just realised that she would have to go through that every month now. Apart from the obvious Dark Mark in the sky, Dumbledore found no real interest in the middle of her fourth year; he had already witnessed Harry's' capabilities, and so continued on to the end of the year where he stopped.

Before heading out on the Hocrux Hunt, Harry had shown Hermione and Ron his memories of the fatal night in the graveyard, courtesy of the pensieve, and so Dumbledore witnessed how Voldemort was brought back to life. He was breathing heavily now, and Hermione could hardly blame him; anyone who would watch Voldemort be brought back to life would be traumatised. After the graveyard part was over, her moved on to her fifth year, were his expression turned even darker than before. He watched as Umbridge terrorised the students and saw the torturous way they spent detention. He showed mild curiosity at the fact that Harry was able to witness Mr Weasley's attack, and looked as though he was storing that thought for later. As they approached the battle of the Department of Mysteries, he looked sadly at the broken girl in front of him, as she was forced to relive the curse that was set upon her by Antonin Dolohov. She was sobbing openly now, and Dumbledore decided that that was enough for tonight, and so he pulled from her mind.

After giving her a few moments to compose herself, Dumbledore offered the distraught woman a cup of tea, to which she readily accepted, and clasped his hands together.

'I think that tonight, we shall introduce you to Molly and Arthur,' he said, smiling when her face lit up. 'I'll just go ahead and floo them, alright?'

Nodding her consent, Hermione took steady, deep breaths at the thought of meeting her adopted parents. Would she be able to stand seeing them? The last time she had seen them they were protecting their family at Bill and Fleur's wedding... The last she had saw of Mrs Weasley was her throwing herself in front of a slicing curse sent towards Fred; and the two screams of anguish piercing the sky; one of pain, and the other of sheer alarm. Could she handle seeing them at peace? The floo shone acid green as Dumbledore exited the fireplace, and behind him stood two young red headed people. Hermione choked back a sob and had to restrain herself from running over and taking the two in her arms and never letting go.

As soon as she exited the floo, Molly Weasley's eyes immediately darted to the frail girl seated in the middle of the room, clutching an empty cup as if it were her life. A quick glance at her husband showed that he was okay with her going over to engulf the girl in her arms, and that is exactly what she did.

As she was enclosed in her adopted mothers' arms, Hermione couldn't hold back the tears any longer. The salty liquid pouring down her cheeks, the broken girl attempted to cease her cries, but the warm and welcoming smell of home emitting from Mrs Weasley proved too much for her self control, and so she buried her head in Mrs Weasley's shoulder; whilst said women whispered consoling words into the girls' ear.

Taking Hermione's face in her hands, Mrs Weasley looked her in the eye, and gave a warm smile. 'Albus informed us of your situation,' she said, not breaking eye contact and speaking in a soft voice no louder than a whisper, 'We just want you to know that we will do all that we can to make you feel welcome here and anything you need please, don't hesitate to ask us.'

Hermione gave a watery smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and threw herself into Mrs Weasley's arms again. 'Thank you,' she whispered, clenching her eyes shut, letting a single tear trickle down her cheek. Mrs Weasley patted her cheeks in a comforting manner, and stepped back while her husband sat his hands upon her shoulders.

'Arthur Weasley,' the man said, shaking Hermione's hand thoroughly, 'Although, I daresay you know me already... or rather will know me... or you did- Albus, I don't really understand this.'

Hermione couldn't help but giggle at the mans' flustered expression as he tried to get his tenses right; he looked so much like Ron. Determined not to break down at Ron's name, Hermione wiped her eyes and stood up.

'I would just like to say thank you,' she started, addressing the two Weasley's, 'You don't know how much it means to me that you are allowing me to reside in your home. I promise I'll help with anything and I will make sure your family makes it through this war.'

By now, there wasn't a single dry eye in the office, as everyone came to terms with the dangers around them.

'Well dear,' Molly said, wiping her eyes, 'I think it's about time we got you home into your bed. You've had a long day and if we're quick, we can get in without waking up the kids. That is, if the house hasn't been blown up yet. Merlin knows what possessed me to leave Gideon and Fabian in charge...'

As Molly rambled on, Arthur ushered his wife towards the floo; sending apologetic glances towards Hermione and Dumbledore as he did so. Realising that they were leaving now, Hermione turned to Dumbledore.

'Professor,' she said, 'could I go and get my things please?'

Dumbledore's head snapped up quickly as he was brought back to reality by Hermione soft tone, and he smiled fondly at her. 'Oh, no need,' he said joyfully, reaching into his robe pocket and pulling out her beaded bag and snapped wand, 'here you go.'

Hermione nodded as she took the offered items, and, not caring what the Weasley's thought of her actions, she launched herself at Dumbledore, and gave him a bone-crushing hug that could rival that of Hagrid's. Dumbledore seemed to acknowledge the sentiments involved in the embrace, and so patted her head of unruly curls as the girl retracted her arms.

'I shall come by the Burrow at the end of next week,' Dumbledore said, looking at the two Weasley's for approval, which they readily gave, 'Just to make sure that you are settling in.'

Hermione nodded and took a step towards the magnificent fireplace at the opposite side of Dumbledore's' office, were Molly and Arthur were standing waiting.

'The Burrow!'

In a flash of green light, both Molly and Arthur were consumed by the flames, and Hermione nodded towards her headmaster and followed them.

'The Burrow!'

ooOOoo

As she dusted the soot and ashes from her jeans, Hermione smelled the scent of warmth, cooking and love. She was home.

She looked around her, taking in her surroundings. The living room was still in the same set up as it is in her time; even the armchairs are the same, albeit relatively new. From her spot in front of the fireplace, Hermione could hear the faint voices of Molly and Arthur, and two other familiar voices that didn't take her a second to place. Fred and George. But, they couldn't be Fred and George. _It must be Gideon and Fabian _Hermione thought. Yes; that makes more sense.

Checking that all her possessions were still in place, Hermione walked towards the direction of the voices to which she knew was the kitchen. She entered the door, and sure enough; Molly and Arthur were talking to exact replicas of Fred and George, albeit they were a little older. As she entered the room, Molly caught sight of her and hurried to make introductions.

'Oh Hermione! You made it here safely!' she said. Even at the age of 26, Molly still had the motherly tone about her and didn't hesitate to make anyone feel welcome. 'Hermione, this is Fabian!' she said, gesturing to the twin on the right.

'I'm not Fabian, I'm Gideon,' said the twin. 'Honestly, woman, call yourself our sister. I mean, you've only known us all your life; can't you tell I'm Gideon?'

This statement alone brought tears to Hermione's eyes, which she desperately tried to keep down. The amount of times the twins had used this same jest around the house couldn't be counted; they had even used it on her sometimes. But, Hermione could always tell which one was Fred. George didn't make her heart melt or her cheeks glow red.

'Oh, sorry Gideon.' Molly said, getting flustered at the fact she got her brothers name wrong.

'Only kidding; I am Fabian!' he said, laughing alongside his twin at their sister's frustration.

'Fabian Prewett, nice to meet you!' Fabian said, outstretching his hand for Hermione to take, which she did, to which he tried to stifle a laugh.

'What?' Hermione asked, her suspicion rising at the twins behaviour.

'Nothing.' Fabian said, his face suddenly going from laughing to the picture of innocence.

'What has he done?' she asked the group at large. Molly just covered her face with her hands whilst the other twin – Gideon – gave a subtle thumbs up to his brother.

'Say Hermione,' Fabian said slyly, 'Have you ever considered changing your hair colour to pink?'

Hermione's' hands immediately went to her hair, but a slow smile spread across her face as she lowered them.

'Actually I have,' she said, 'What about you? Have you ever considered changing your hair colour to green?'

Whilst highly advanced at casting normal spells, no one was aware that Hermione was also adapt at casting wandless and wordless spells; which she had just demonstrated. Fabian mimicked Hermione's' previous actions and put his hands to his hair; his smug smile dropping from his face as he ran to the mirror. Molly was peering over her hands, but Hermione could see the amused twinkle in her eyes, whilst Gideon showed no sign of wanting to conceal his laughter, as he fell to the floor in a heap of giggles – manly giggles of course.

'Oh God! Gideon said, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes before bounding over to Hermione. 'I'm Gideon Prewett, and I have a feeling we are going to be great friends!'

'I hope so!' Hermione said, feeling happy at the immediate acceptation she received from the twins. Molly beamed at her brother's friendliness, and quickly ran over to the oven, were she retrieved what looked like a pot of some left over vegetable soup.

'Would you care for some dinner, dear?' Molly said, as she took the soup from the hob and sat it on the table, 'I apologise it's a little late; we've already had our dinner...'

'Oh no, Molly. I'm... not too hungry just now. If it's alright with you, could I just go to bed now? It's been a long day...' Hermione trailed off apologetically.

'Oh of course dear!' Molly exclaimed, 'You must be exhausted! You poor thing... let me show you to your room. Do you have anything to wear to bed tonight?'

'I don't know...' Hermione said, looking at her beaded bag doubtfully. She had been unable to pack anything else in her bag before she was captured and wasn't sure if she had any night clothes. 'Let me just check.'

She sat the bag down on the kitchen table and rummaged through it; occasionally sitting a couple of necessities out like her toothbrush, hairbrush and a couple of books. Five minutes later, she retracted her arm from the bag with a pair of pyjamas in hand.

'Yep, Molly. I have some night-' she stopped talking abruptly as she noticed everyone in the kitchen staring at her. '-What?'

Fabian walked across the room towards her, his hair still bright green, and took the bag from her.

'Hey!' Hermione said in confusion, 'what are you doing?'

Fabian just ignored her and shook the bag, a bewildered look on his face as he heard the ruckus caused by Hermione's many possessions bouncing in the bag. 'Wow –why do you have all this in your bag?'

'It doesn't matter,' Hermione snapped, snatching her bag out of Fabians hands in his moment of bewilderment. She sighed. She hadn't meant to snap; she was _exhausted, _and despite what she had said to Molly, she was starving. But, she wasn't hungry for Molly's delicious vegetable soup. Actually, it made her feel queasy. She would have to investigate that in the morning.

'Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you guys,' Hermione said apologetically, 'I'm just really tired; it's been a really long day.'

Molly nodded in understanding and walked over to the stairs. 'Come dear,' she said, smiling at Hermione, 'I'll show you to your room.'

Hermione smiled gratefully and nodded at the men in the room before following molly as they started climbing the familiar stairs. She passed what would be Ginny's room and quickly averted her eyes; Ginny wasn't there. Molly must have seen her looking at the room and smiled fondly. 'That would be the room that I would give a girl if I got one,' she said, looking at the door hopefully, then she sighed. 'Then again, it is highly unlikely that I will get one; there hasn't been a girl in the Weasley family for generations.'

Hermione lay a comforting hand on Molly's shoulder, and gave it a quick squeeze, 'don't give up on your dreams too soon Molly,' she said, as she remembered her best female friend, 'Your luck might turn in a few years.'

Molly smiled gratefully and continued up another flight of stairs until they were standing outside the one door that Hermione didn't want to see. The twins' room. The last time she had seen George he was cracking jokes about his 'holey' ear, but when he thought no one was looking, he would turn and grimace in pain. And Fred. The last time she had seen him he had been _distraught_. He wasn't even here now.

Molly opened the door and gestured into the room. 'This will be your room, if you're okay with that,' she said, 'It has been a guest room for years so feel free to change anything you want...'

'Thank you Molly,' Hermione said, looking around at the differences in the room. The brightly coloured posters were absent from the wall, and the smell of Gunpowder didn't hover in the room. Instead of the twin beds that Hermione was accustomed to, one single bed sat in the corner of the room beside a large bookcase. Opposite the bed sat a wardrobe and a dresser, and apart from that, the room was quite empty.

'If you need anything else then please don't hesitate to call on me,' Molly said, reaching over to give Hermione a hug. Hermione nodded into the woman's' shoulder and stepped out of her arms and over to her bed. When Molly left the room, Hermione got changed into her thin pyjamas and snuggled underneath her covers, and let sleep overpower her.

**A/N; I've had this chapter written for a while, but my brother has been using my laptop a lot and hasn't let me on it. *Grumble Grumble*... anyway... Has anyone else seen the first episode of 'Sirius Black and the Secret Keeper'? I think its quite good so far! Anyway, enough of my rambling... Next chapter might be up in the next 2 weeks... R&R!**


	4. Chapter 4

********IMPORTANT A/N AT END! PLEASE READ!***********

Chapter 4

She was sitting underneath the large oak tree a couple of yards from the Burrow. She had often seen both Fred and George sitting with their heads together, whispering about Merlin knows what, but she saw that it granted the solitude that the Burrow lacked. Pulling out her novel from her shoulder bag, Hermione propped it against her knees and read. The book started to move and the words on the page rearranged themselves into an arrow pointing upwards. She looked in the direction of the arrow and saw Fred Weasley hanging from a tree above her. A cheeky grin plastered upon his face, Fred jumped gracefully from the tree and sat beside Hermione. He took her head in his soft hands and looked her in the eyes, silently asking permission to go through with his plans. He must have seen some sort of sign of admission as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. To say she was startled was an understatement, but nonetheless, she kissed him back. _Wait, this isn't supposed to happen_ Hermione thought, before coming to the harsh conclusion.

She was _dreaming_.

Sure enough, just as she acknowledged her sleeping state, the lips on hers started to shift, as if growing smaller, and she opened her eyes in shock. Sitting in front of her, with his legs crossed and an innocent expression on his face, sat a toddler. His big blue eyes were full of youth as he looked up at Hermione through his flaming red bangs, and he slowly took her book from her hands and sat it to the side.

'Hermione.'

Hermione recoiled in shock. The voice of the Fred from her time had come from the mouth of the toddler in front of her. 'Hermione.'

The toddler repeated her name, and she looked on warily.

'I've wanted to say this for a while, but you've always been with Harry and Ron,' he continued, never breaking eye contact, 'I love you Hermione – I think I always have… could you give me a shot?'

The toddler looked around him as if he wasn't even aware that a voice was coming from his mouth, as he started tugging on Hermione's' curls. Now Hermione understood. Her family, her friends, her loved ones weren't _hers_ in this time. They never would be. She could never reprimand Harry and Ron for failing to complete their homework, or scold the twins for testing their products on first years. They would be younger than her. Those joyous times were gone, never to happen again.

The dream changed.

She was falling from the sky onto what looked like a beach and she closed her eyes; bracing herself for the harsh impact of the ground. But it never came. Instead, she opened her eyes and realized that she was floating above the soft sand. She got up and looked down at her body. She was a ghost; if the transparent body was any indication. A loud _crack _sounded from a couple of meters away and she turned to see four figures huddled together. Creeping closer, she recognized herself, Harry and Ron, and a small creature who could only be Dobby. Ron was holding the dream-Hermione close to him as Harry sobbed over the house elf, which was lying motionless on the ground with a knife stuck in his chest. Another _crack _of apparition sounded from a few meters away from the group, but either they didn't notice it or they just chose to ignore it. Hermione heard it though, and so she left her dream like self with Harry and headed over, floating just inches above the ground. As she reached the group, she noticed that it was, again, Dobby, Ron and Harry, but, she was absent form the group, and beside Harry was Dean. She looked behind her in confusion, and saw that the same people were still were she had left them, but they were now fading. In a matter of seconds, the group with Hermione was gone, and the only people left on the beach were Harry, Dobby, Ron, Dean and the floating Hermione.

Looking back at the newly arrived group, she saw Harry shaking an unconscious Dean, who, instead of Dobby, had a knife sunk into his muscular chest. Dobby was apologizing over and over again, but his apologies could hardly be heard over the cries of anguish coming from Harry, as he saw his mate slowly bleed to death. Hermione looked in shock as Harry pulled Bellatrix's knife from Dean and throw it away, whilst casting spells in an attempt to close the wound. Nothing was working. Harry turned to Dobby, who had taken to banging his head off the sand instead of apologizing, and shook him until he was sitting upright. Harry started to plead with Dobby; he knew elf magic was more beneficial than wizard magic, and continued to ask Dobby to heal his friend. Dobby clicked his fingers and the bleeding slowed down, but the wound was still there. The elf looked up at Harry; his big, tennis ball eyes filled with tears as he explained how the enchanted blade wound could not be healed. Harry rested his head on Dean's chest in defeat and sobbed, just as the eldest Weasley ran out of the nearby cottage. Bill took his brother in his arms and starting firing spells to stop Dean bleeding and close the wound, but to no avail. Tears streamed down Hermione's face as she watched both Harry and Ron break down at Deans' side. She had never felt so helpless in her life. Her surroundings began to grow blurry and she found herself screaming as she started to fade away from the scene, but the group remained oblivious to Hermione's' presence, and she awoke with a start.

Still screaming, Hermione sat up in the unfamiliar bed, and wiped her brow of the clean coat of sweat that had covered her. Tear tracks marred her face as she fought to forget her horrendous dream. Was it just a dream? It seemed far too real to be one. What if that had actually happened? Did Dean die? He was loosing a lot of blood anyway, so it would only be a matter of time. A creak sounded from beside her and she automatically reached for her wand, but it wasn't there. Panicking, Hermione jumped down from her bed and crouched at the side; her eyes trained on the door way. It opened every so slightly and Hermione's' breath quickened with every creak. A small hand grasped the side of the door and pushed it completely open, and Hermione ducked her head so the intruder couldn't see her face. There was a quiet _bang _as what sounded like a book fell to the floor, followed by a voice saying _ssshhhh._ Hermione raised an eyebrow. For intruders, they were really lacking on the stealthy part.

'See, Char? I told you no one was here. We were probably just hearing the wind.'

Hermione bit her tongue to prevent the gasp that wanted to escape her lips from sounding at the sound of the small voice and her eyes widened.

'Nuh uh,' another, slightly younger voice, said, 'I _did _hear someone, Billy! 'Twas a giwl! The pwincess is in twouble!' the voice dropped down to a whisper, 'We hafta save her fwom the dwagon! But, we can't kill it; we'll give it to Percy! Maybe he'll stop cwying 'f we do!'

Hermione couldn't help it. A small laugh escaped her lips as her shoulders shook at the children's innocence. The whispers of the children stopped suddenly, and Hermione could here the squeaks of the floorboards as the two boys cautiously walked towards her bed.

'Ready, Char?'

'Ready, Billy,'

'Okay, 3…2…1!'

'YYYYAAAAAAHHHHH!'

The bed gave an almighty squeak in protest as the two boys jumped on the bed with a loud battle cry; bouncing the bed under their combined weight. Hermione looked up at the two innocent faces through her lashes laden with tears, and gave them a watery smile.

'Hello boys,' she choked out. The two boys stared down at her, curiosity marring their faces as they failed to recognize the girl. Seeing the two boys in front of her made Hermione want to hug them close to her chest and never let them go. Both Bill and Charlie were like the older brothers that Hermione had never had, but had always hoped for. Many nights were spent in heated debate with Bill over Goblin rights, and talking about the different species of dragons with Charlie. It was in one of these discussions that Charlie learned of her love for magical creatures, and that she held a particular4 interest in dragons, and so in the summer of her 5th year when she was coming back from the ski trip with her parents, Charlie offered to retrieve her and took a side-trip and took her to the reserve in Romania.

'Who are you?' Bill asked, squinting his eyes to see Hermione in the dark.

'I'm Hermione,' she said, 'I'll be staying with you for a while,'

'Cool!' Bill and Charlie said together; eager to make a new friend. 'Do you like dwagons?' Charlie asked; hope etched across his young face.

'As a matter of fact, I do,' Hermione answered, 'and I bet that you want to be a dragon when you're older; is that true?'

'Yeah!

Actually, Molly had told her in the summer of her sixth year; she was revealing all the embarrassing stories of Ron when he was an infant and only saw fit to throw in a story about Charlie as well. Right after the one about when Bill found out that girls didn't have… some _things _that boys did, and proceeded to brag in front of Molly…. But that's a story for another time.

'What are you both doing awake?' she asked, though not unkindly.

Bill shifted uncomfortably in his spot on her bed, whereas Charlie just grinned unabashedly.

'We heawd someone scweaming,' he said, 'we thought 'twas mummy, but she's still sweeping, so we came to ingestifate!'

'Its _investigate_ Char,' Bill whispered; the corners of his lips twitching in a smile.

'Oh dear,' Hermione said, suddenly feeling guilty, 'Did I wake you up? Oh dear, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!'

The two boys just watched in alarm as the lady in front of them started asking them questions to which none of them could answer as she would just ask another question. She finally finished her rambling and, noticing she was still on the floor, hopped onto her bed and wiped her eyes with her arm. The two boys both screamed in alarm and toppled off the bed as she looked at them, much to her confusion. Charlie started to cry and Bill took his brother in his arms, looking on the verge of tears himself.

'What?' Hermione asked frantically, 'What's wrong!'

Bill lifted a shaky arm and pointed to her eyes before closing his own and burying his head in Charlie's shoulder.

Hermione jumped off the bed and ran to the mirror at the other side of the room only to let out a small scream at the thing that had upset the boys. A dark smear of blood was stretched across her two eyes were she had wiped them, and so she looked for the source. She looked down at her left arm and recoiled in fright. The 'M' in her mudblood scar had slowly started to bleed and thus had spread across her face. She quickly reached into her beaded bag that was sitting on her dresser and reached into it; rummaging around for the roll of bandages so that she could wipe her face and cover up her arm. She quickly found them hidden underneath a stack of books, and slowly started to wrap it around her arm. Wiping the blood off her face, she walked back to the bed and gathered Bill and Charlie in her arm; whispering soothing words into their ears. Once they were calmed down, Hermione faced them.

'Its okay – I'm not hurt,' she said, 'You scared the dragon away! He won't get us anymore!'

Both Bill and Charlie puffed their chests out in pride as Hermione thanked them for saving her, and they gave each other a high-five. Hermione beamed at the two boys; in her time, Bill and Charlie hardly had any time to act like their age, as they were both forced to gain extra years as a result of the war.

Yawning, Hermione looked at her bedside table were a small digital alarm clock was sitting; Arthur had obviously put it there as it had a few _minor _adjustments; Hermione was pretty sure that muggle alarm clocks didn't have a built in speech feature that sang the time whenever you looked at it. He had obviously gotten Bill and Charlie to record the times as she looked at it and it sang '2:30am' in small voices that were drowned out by the toddlers laughs.

'Alright, guys,' Hermione said, speaking through a yawn, 'Time to go ba-'

Her sentence was cut short at the sound of deep, even breaths, and she looked down to see both Bill and Charlie sprawled over her small single bed; single drops of drool falling from their mouths. If hearts could burst, Hermione was sure hers would be in a million pieces right now. Never before had she seen such peaceful faces from any Weasley; whilst on the Hocrux hunt, Ron always had his eyes scrunched up when sleeping, and his breaths were ragged through snores, as if he were expecting something to jump out at him at any moment. Which, in actual fact, could actually happen; considering the mission they were on. Lifting the two boys up, she quickly wrapped her covers around them and placed their heads on the pillow. It was a perfect camera moment. Unfortunately, Hermione didn't find it necessary to bring a camera with them on their Hocrux hunt, and so had not packed it in her bag.

Sighing, Hermione walked away from the slumbering boys and over to the dressing table, were she looked in the mirror again. She brought her fingers to her face and traced the large bags that were weighing down her eyes, and pushed her unruly curls out of her face. You would think that, over the years, Hermione's' hair would have tamed a little. You couldn't be more wrong. Her mad curls still stuck out in random places, and it reached down to her mid-back. She hadn't had time to cut it whilst on the run; she just kept it pulled back in her thin elastic.

She unraveled the bandage on her left arm, and looked at her scar. It was still bleeding, but only a little. The odd thing was, it didn't hurt. Not even a tingle resulted from the bleeding. She decided that she would have to pick up a couple of books from Flourish and Blotts later in the day when she went shopping to get her new wand. She covered her scar again and quietly went in her bed beside the two boys; being careful so as to not wake them, and drifted into what could be, her first dreamless sleep.

ooOOoo

The smell of bacon and eggs was the thing that met Hermione's' nostrils as she awoke, and her mouth watered at the thought of a Weasley breakfast. After living off nothing but burnt salmon and over ripe apples for the past couple of months, Hermione was almost jumping in jubilation when her thoughts wandered to what Molly would have on the breakfast table just now. She pushed her covers off her and stretched before a thought hit her. Where were Bill and Charlie? They had, after all, spent the night in her room. She looked at the alarm clock before covering her ears as a melodic female voice sang '9:03am'. Apparently, Molly had agreed to help Arthur in his muggle-meddling.

Walking over to her dressing table, Hermione grabbed her bag and pulled out various articles of clothing. She laid them all on the bed and frowned. Most of her clothes had large rips up the sides and were covered in dried blood and mud. Only one outfit was salvageable. She picked up a bright orange t-shirt and held it up against the light. 'Chudley Cannons' covered most of the t-shirt in faded white writing, while the rest was covered in the team logo. She smiled as she realized that it was too oversized to be hers. It was Ron's. Whilst on the Hocrux hunt, Hermione's birthday had passed, and she hadn't expected Ron or Harry to remember; seeing as they didn't have a calendar whilst hunting down dark artifacts. When she had awoke, she had walked into the main part of the tent to get prepared for the day, only to find both Ron and Harry standing in front of her with beaming smiles on their faces and their hands behind their backs.

They had sung – or rather bellowed – about three verses of 'Happy Birthday' with lyrics that they were obviously just making up on the spot, and had then sat her down to give her presents. Harry had given her a new black beanie hat and Ron had given her one of his old Chudley Cannons t-shirts. The simplicity of the gifts didn't matter to Hermione; the fact that they had actually remembered her birthday was a feat in itself. The t-shirt had quickly become one of Hermione's most prized possessions; she hardly ever wore it outside in fear of it getting ruined or soiled, and so it stayed safe inside her bag. Thinking of the event brought tears to Hermione's eyes as she pulled the shirt over her head and tied it at the bottom to make it less baggy. She quickly pulled on a pair of faded jeans and let her hair down instead of putting it up in her usual messy bun. She ran a brush through the unmanageable curls in an attempt to tame it, but promptly gave up when the brush got stuck for the fourth time. Making her way down the stairs, Hermione's mouth started to water as the smell of breakfast became more pronounced with ever step.

As she neared the kitchen, the sound of talk and laughter began to reach her ears, and so she picked up her pace. If she thought last night had the perfect picture moment, she was wrong. Baby Percy was sitting in his high chair; gladly accepting the spoonfuls of baby food that Gideon was giving him whilst making happy baby noises. Molly was at the oven levitating more food onto the table whilst leaning in to give Arthur the occasional kiss on the forehead while he read the _Daily Prophet, _and Fabian was apparently having an eating contest with Bill and Charlie; the toddlers faces aglow with happiness.

Molly looked up from her cooking and noticed Hermione standing awkwardly in the doorway and quickly bustled over to her and ushered her into a seat whilst saying numerous good mornings.

'Mornin' everyone,' Hermione said through a yawn.

'Morning, Hermione,' the Fabian, Gideon and Arthur said, giving friendly smiles before going back to their business.

'Morning, Mia,' Bill and Charlie said, jumping down from their chairs and hugging her legs whilst the adults looked on in bewilderment. 'How do you know Hermione?' Arthur asked, peering over the top of his newspaper.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat, 'They came into my room last night after I… got woken up by a nightmare,' said Hermione, her cheeks growing red in embarrassment. Molly immediately dropped the spatula she was holding and pulled her into a motherly hug.

Arthur clapped his hands together, 'Well that's lovely that you are already acquainted,' he said, 'I hope they weren't too much trouble…' He trailed off, looking apologetic.

'No – not at all,' Hermione was quick to reassure him. 'I'm just glad they like me, is all…'

'Well of course they like you,' Molly said, looking at her children fondly, 'They'll love anyone who has long hair.'

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She wasn't aware that short hair was an issue in getting a child to like you. She patted her hair self consciously, only to find short, stubby fingers had bet her to it. Baby Percy was looking up at her through dull green eyes; alight with fascination. As much as Hermione had come to dislike Percy, she couldn't hold a grudge against the baby. His pudgy cheeks and button nose were too adorable. He was twisting a curl around his index finger; his other hand stuffed in his mouth.

'Well, dearie, finish your breakfast and we'll get going to Diagon Alley,' Molly said, shoveling bacon and eggs onto her plate. Hermione's hand immediately reached for her bacon and she started shoveling it into her mouth, not caring of how the others at the table must think of her.

After several helpings, she pushed her meal away from her and exhaled slowly, 'that was delicious, Mrs Weasley' she complimented, smiling gratefully up to her. Said woman returned the smile, happy to see her house guest so pleased with her meal.

'Come dearie, time to get you to Diagon Alley.'

*****IMPORTANT A/N – PLEASE READ!*****

**I cannot express how sorry I am. It has been months since my last update, but life has just gotten so busy. I know – as I am 13, that it quite hard to believe. BUT – here is my story. I got placed into the highest English class (yay!) and I am reaaally busy with homework. In the last couple of weeks, I have literally had 6 essays issued. One of them has to be in for Monday and I have only done the introduction… oops.**

**Also, for the past two months, I have had a scheduled radio show on my local community station – Irvine Beat fm. I have 2 x 2hr shows a week, and so it would take me all week to prepare the news, music etc. So that got in the way of things. Also, my sister Theresa has downs syndrome, and so she has had a HUGE operation (she's fine now!) and I have been mega worried about her – she has to go in for another one this month **

**I have kind of lost inspiration for this story. I know a couple of events that will happen, but other than that, my mind is blank. I have another idea for a time travel one (yes – it will be Remus/Hermione!) which I think will work out better than this one… I am ASTOUNDED by the amount of response I've gotten for this story – thank you so much! I don't know whether I will continue this or not – you have two choices.**

**1 = I can continue this story but only update every once in a blue moon (or whenever I get inspiration)**

**2 = I can post the first chapter of my new story, and if you like that, I will update that one at least twice a week (I know where that one is going)**

**Please state your choice in the reviews! **

**Wow, that was a long A/N – I hope you didn't fall asleep…**

**EleanorWeasley**

**(P.s – are there any danosaurs or philions out there?!)**


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